Vladimir obeyed his father's command, returned to his room, and took out his most formal and finest attire.
Then he found his maid, Angel, woke her up early, and asked her to help him put on the tailored suit.
Looking at his handsome face in the mirror, Vladimir encouraged himself.
About half an hour later, Vladimir was waiting for Duke Utah in his room.
"I waited for you in the hall for a while, but didn't see you, so I came straight up."
"I see you're well-prepared. Come with me and see if you have the luck."
After speaking, Duke Utah led Vladimir to the door of the room where the wizards were resting.
Before they could even knock, the door opened by itself.
The father and son exchanged a glance, then stepped inside together.
"Little Utah, what can I do for you? I saw you standing at the door, seemingly wanting to come in."
The wizard Duke Utah called Seventh Grandpa was sitting cross-legged on the sofa in the room, apparently cultivating earlier.
"Seventh Grandpa, yes, we have something we'd like your help with."
After entering the room, Duke Utah spoke first.
"This is my sixth son. His name is Vladimir. He is 14 years old this year."
"After the ceremony yesterday, he said he awakened Wizard aptitude. Based on his description, I feel he might have truly awakened it."
"So I hope you can take a look for me."
"Hmm, while the Spirit Awakening Ceremony can indeed increase some mental power, it's a small benefit for those who host it."
"But to reach the level of awakening aptitude, it's still quite unlikely."
"Otherwise, wouldn't we be able to mass-produce Wizard Seeds!"
Then, a crystal ball, clear as crystal, suddenly appeared in the hand of the Seventh Grandpa Wizard.
"Child, don't be nervous. Place your hand on this crystal ball."
Vladimir obediently placed his hand on the crystal ball according to the old man's instructions.
"Next, clear your mind. Focus all your perception into the crystal ball."
Vladimir cleared all his thoughts, brainwashing himself repeatedly: I want to see the crystal ball, I want to see the crystal ball.
After that, his gaze, his world, was left with only the crystal ball.
In the crystal ball, he felt elemental particles that were tens of thousands of times more concentrated than in the air.
What excited him even more were Seventh Grandpa's next words.
"It seems you truly have awakened Wizard aptitude."
But the old man's subsequent words made his heart clench.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I really want to dissect you to see why you could awaken Wizard aptitude later in life."
Duke Utah, standing nearby, heard this and his expression changed.
"Hahaha, look how nervous you are, I was just joking with you."
"If you were strangers I met on the road, then there might be a slight chance I'd try to capture you for research."
"But you are my blood relatives. Harming family members severely violates family rules."
"You might not fully understand the meaning of Wizard aptitude yet. You don't understand the significance of a Wizard Seed to the family."
"Once you understand the importance of a Wizard Seed to the family, you won't doubt for a moment that I would dare to harm this lovely child."
Seventh Grandpa gently stroked Vladimir's head with his slightly withered hand.
"However, it's a pity that this child wasn't sensed at birth. His aptitude probably isn't too good, and he only awakened due to the stimulation of the Spirit Awakening Ceremony."
"This means he might be at a disadvantage from the start."
"The Spirit Awakening Ceremony sacrifices some precious medicines or items to make the World Consciousness of the Wizard World cast a momentary gaze upon newborns."
"Newborns who have been noticed by the World Consciousness will greatly enhance their talent, luck, and cultivation speed."
"So, even though I don't know the reason you awakened Wizard cultivation aptitude later in life..."
"But you must understand. You are already 14 years old. You've already lost at the starting line, so the family may not be able to provide you with too many resources."
"Now you have two choices."
"One is to leave the family, because so far only your father and I know that you awakened Wizard aptitude later in life."
"Then you can go outside the family as a rogue wizard, seek your own opportunities, and not have to bear the tasks set by the family. Perhaps you can achieve greater accomplishments."
"The other choice is to return to the family with me."
"But because of your innate deficiencies, and your current aptitude is probably only Fifth Grade..."
"Which is the weakest kind."
"So you definitely won't be cultivated according to the standards of a core seed. And Wizard cultivation is very resource-intensive, so you must obtain Wizard cultivation resources by completing family tasks."
"The best position I can get for you is to be the Guardian Wizard for your sister."
"It's up to you if you're willing."
"Excuse me, what are the duties of a Guardian Wizard?"
"The duty of a Guardian Wizard is to protect a talented Wizard Seed until she comes of age."
"During this process, a Guardian Wizard generally cannot leave their protected person too far to perform tasks outside."
"Therefore, a Guardian Wizard's income will be significantly reduced."
"Of course, as compensation, this will be a high-yield and long-term stable task."
"Although there aren't many opportunities to gain extra chances, it's safe, and from the perspective of overall survival rate, final realm, and achievements, the return rate will not be lower than the average level of a Wizard Apprentice."
"Then I choose the second option, to become my sister's Guardian Wizard."
Vladimir hesitated only briefly, then instantly made up his mind.
After all, if he went out to be a rogue wizard, the risks would be too great.
And he had the system, which was his greatest stroke of luck.
He didn't need too many extra resources or opportunities to steadily improve himself.
Furthermore, the Guardian Wizard task seemed to be a very safe one. Coupled with his Intermediate Knight strength, he only needed to continuously cultivate other knight skills to constantly acquire free attribute points and continuously improve his mental attributes.
"Good, then pack up. According to the plan, we must depart to return by noon, and we will take you with us then."
Seventh Grandpa looked at Vladimir with approval, then told them to go back and prepare.
After leaving the room, Duke Utah gestured to Vladimir not to rush back. He asked him to follow him to Duke Utah's study.
Under Vladimir's gaze, Duke Utah turned a disc-shaped ornament on his desk.
A door, only wide enough for one person, appeared behind the bookshelf.
The Duke's eyes motioned for his son to follow.
Then, taking his son, he walked into the small door as if having made a certain decision.
After entering the small door, Vladimir looked around and found that it wasn't as dark as he had expected.
Crystal lamps, emitting bright, warm light, hung on the surrounding walls.
Vladimir quickly determined that it was a secret room only four or five square meters in size.
"This is a secret room that your father and I carefully designed."
"It basically holds all the valuable items I've painstakingly collected over the years."
"Originally, like your brothers, I was going to give you a chance to choose one item when you came of age."
"But fate is so unpredictable. You are leaving soon. So I'll give you this opportunity early."
"As a reward for awakening Wizard aptitude, I allow you to choose three items."
After the Duke finished speaking, he pointed to a shelf on the northwest wall of the secret room.
There were four or five layers of scattered items on it.
Vladimir's gaze swept across them.
He noticed a clear, crystal-like gem on the middle shelf, about the size of his fist, emitting a strong elemental aura.
"Father, what is this?"
Vladimir pointed at the gem and directly asked his father.
"This is the Magic Core we found after killing that giant python some time ago and breaking open its head."
"Some powerful magical beasts occasionally condense Magic Cores in their heads. It's said to be priceless, but I don't know its exact value."
"Father, can I choose this item?"
Understanding the value of the item, Vladimir asked his father with some trepidation.
"Of course you can. You can still choose two more items."
Duke Utah showed no stinginess towards his son. After all, the meaning of all a father's efforts is to give his children a better future.
Vladimir then chose a jeweled greatsword and a scroll filled with elemental energy.
"You have good taste, lad. You've basically chosen the three most precious treasures in my secret room."
"This greatsword is extraordinary. Its gems are a wind-element gem, which increases sword-swinging speed; a strength gem, which can double your strength at your current stage; and then there's the most valuable sharp gem, which basically allows you to inflict damage even on that giant python we encountered that day."
"And this scroll is even more remarkable. It was originally given to me by the family for self-defense."
"This is one of the few Wizard scrolls that can be activated by bloodline."
"It must be activated using our family's bloodline, along with the Battle Qi energy from the Dragon Breathing Technique."
"It's for the distant lords of the family, to save their lives when they encounter sudden dangers and don't have time to call for help."
Duke Utah, however, had an expression of utter wonder.
"Then, Father, perhaps I should exchange it. This scroll is too important to you."
Vladimir thought about it and decided to exchange it.
"No need. Your father, I, am already at the peak of an Earth Knight."
"Even if I encounter some Junior Wizard Apprentices, I have a certain ability to fight back."
"This scroll is very suitable for you. You must remember, although everyone in the original family is blood-related, wherever there are people, there will be competition, and once the competition becomes too fierce, some people will take risks."
"In the future, when your parents are not by your side, this will be your final trump card."
Duke Utah stopped Vladimir from trying to put the scroll back, and then told him how to activate the scroll step by step and its approximate effects.
"Next, I have another task to tell you."
"Your twelfth sister, your mother and I have decided to name her Winnie."
"She is destined to grow up without the love of her parents from a young age. So I hope that as a relative, and as her sixth brother, you can partially replace our role and give her as warm a childhood as possible."
"From what I understand, the Wizard World is not a gentle place; instead, it is a world full of death and disaster."
"I hope that as her older brother, you can protect her until she is capable of protecting herself."
"Can you do it, my child?"
Duke Utah put away all the smiles on his face, staring sternly at his sixth son. After all, this son had always been the troublemaker and nuisance of the family.
Although he had changed a lot in recent months, becoming obedient and sensible as if he were a different person.
"I definitely can, Father!"
Vladimir did not avoid Duke Utah's gaze. He stared straight into his father's eyes and made the most solemn promise.
